A/N: Comment as you read, please. It'd mean the world to me.
Later when I was standing in a small room with only a table filled with refreshments, I was beginning to feel better about myself. I’d spent most of my time on my phone, trying to search the internet for any mention that something was off about Ludmilla.
It pleased me to no end that there weren’t any.
“Ms. Hanson?” a young woman asked.
I didn’t recognize her. “Yes?”
“My name is Lucy Callahan. I’m a journalist for High-Life Magazine.” She extended her hand to me. “Steven Sayven said I could go back here to get a quote about tonight to our magazine.”
I surveyed her carefully. It was no secret that the media business were filled with liars. Yet, somehow it felt like this woman wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t exactly explain it: I just trusted her words.
“Okay,” I said. “What do you want me to say then?”
The woman smiled. “The meaning behind us taking quotes is for you to choose your own words, and then we print them.”
“Of course,” I said. “I meant: what do you like me to say something about. Surely you must have some kind of overall topic.”
“I actually have a few questions,” she said. “You don’t have to answer them all, though. But it could be good to get us started.”
“Sure…” I smiled at her. “Shoot.”
“First, I’d like to know how it’s been like working with Harry Styles and Zayn Malik compared to other actors. Did you sense any difference?”
I swallowed hard. Maybe I should have thought this over better. I cleared my throat. “Honestly, I didn’t see much difference. It was clear early on that both Harry and Zayn has a strong sense of ambition, and they’re professionals.”
“I actually guessed that much,” Lucy said as she scribbled something on her notepad. “Well then. I’d like to know something: How do you deal with all the hate?”
The question took me by surprise. Somehow, I hadn’t been prepared for the possibility that someone may want to ask into this.
“I mostly ignore it.” I gave her a small smile.
The door opened and Steven came in. “Cami, have you—”
He stopped speaking as he noticed Lucy. Pointing at her, he looked at me. “What’s she doing in here?”
“She said you sent her in here.” I frowned. “You didn’t?”
“I would never.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Get. Out.”
Surprised, I watched as she obliged. She nodded to me, raising her pad with a triumphant smile.
Steven turned to me as soon as the door closed behind Lucy. “What did you tell her?”
“Not that much, really.” I shrugged. “She asked if Harry and Zayn were bad to work with: I said no. And she asked how I dealt with hate, to which I answered that I simply ignored it.” I looked down. “Is it bad?”
Steven ran a hand through his hair, tousling it with a tad of frustration. “It really depends on her. Lucy Callahan is notorious for making things up. Especially about celebrities who’s the current hot topic with a lot of positive publicity. She must have targeted you specifically.”
“What could she probably spin my answers into something bad?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know how she manages it, but there’s always some kind of truth in what she says. For instance, you saying that Harry and Zayn are good actors? She could spin that to say that all of the other people you worked with are incompetent.”
“But that’s not what I said, at all.”
“She doesn’t care.” Steven sighed. “All she cares about is readers. And her stories managed to catch a lot of those.” He walked further into the room.
“That’s really rude,” I muttered.
He snorted. “She’s a menace. I can’t believe you haven’t stumbled upon her before.”
“Maybe I have.” I shrugged. “I’m not that good with names, faces, and grudges.”
Steven laughed. “Wise choice.”
Smiling at him, I stuck my hands into the pockets of my shorts. “So… what do we do now?”
He shrugged. “She probably already sent in a draft, but we’ll deal with it when that time comes. Now, we need to get you out to the signing.”
“Wouldn’t it be weird for me to be there?”
“Why would it be?”
“Well…” I averted my eyes. “The fans are sort of here for the guys and not me. I almost feel like I’m intruding.”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “This is still part of the movie promotion. Fans of the band will have a chance to get a personal signing another time. We’ve already revealed you’re going to be there.”
“Oh, okay.” I bit my lip, wondering if more people would attack me for dating Harry. It seemed silly to mention to Steven, though.
“We’ve made sure to add extra security for you.” He nudged my shoulder. “Don’t worry, sweetheart.”
Steven wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and once again, I was overwhelmed with the fake feeling of having a dad nearby. I knew that no one would ever replace my parents, but I was still eternally grateful that Steven had my back.
“Thank you,” I said and walked with him out of the room.
“No problem,” he said. “All we need is—“
He stopped speaking abruptly. I glanced at him, noticing that he was staring at something. I turned my head and saw Harry stand on a table. Frowning, we walked closer to hear what he was saying.
The other guys were sitting down, ready to sign posters. Their faces were all lined in the same grave expression as they looked out over the crowd.
I turned my attention to Harry.
“While we appreciate,” he said. “That you’re all here to support us, I just wanted to let you know that any further attempts at attacking my girlfriend will be dealt with by security. As you can see, the big guys in black behind me are ready to take action at any moment. I hope this signing will go peacefully from now on. Thank you.”
He stepped down, and I walked over to him.
When I came closer, I could see he had some scratch marks on his neck. They were already starting to fade, but I could still see them.
“What happened?”
“Some fan wasn’t too thrilled that you were joining. The guards took her outside.” He shrugged.
“Are you okay?” I reached up and ran my fingers across the marks on his neck.
“I'm all right.” He smiled. “I don’t think wanted to hurt me, her arms were flailing when the guards apprehended here. One of her movements got lucky.”
“I’m so sorry for all of this.” I took his hands.
He kissed my forehead. “It’s not your fault, I promise.”
Together, we walked over to the table and sat down. I grabbed a pen, ready to write Milla Hanson on everything. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the closest thing to not lying I had.
Girl after girl walked past me, asking me to sign the movie poster, their phone case or a small book they had. I was quick to notice that I should have practiced for this. After the first twenty autographs, my hand began to cramp.
Most of all, I found it entertaining how people kept declaring their undying love to Harry. I glanced at him, noticing his smile when he told each and everyone that he loved them too. It was adorable, and it seemed genuine. My heart somewhat melted as I saw how he took the time to care about each fan.
That was until someone I recognized showed up.
I didn’t know her name, but her face was etched into my memory. The girl who had attacked me at the hotel. Instinctively, I scooted my chair back to get out of reach, but she barely spared me a glance.
The guards behind me tensed up at my reaction, but they were standing by until the girl moved.
“How am I supposed to enjoy the concert when she’s there?” the fan asked, looking directly at Harry.
I noticed him clench his fists, but he remained calm. “I would think you’d enjoy it more—I certainly am going to.”
“She’s poisoning you. Don’t you see?” The fan’s voice was low and filled with venom. It gave me the shivers.
Harry gave her a small smile. “Even if I wanted to remove her from the concert—which I don’t—then there’s nothing I can do. Tonight is a sponsored show from the producers behind Love Beat. If you’re not satisfied with that, I suggest you change your ticket to another date, or sell it to the highest bidder.”
With that, he looked at the next person in line. “Who can I sign this to, love?”
I watched carefully as the psychopath was gestured away from the line. If this had been a cartoon, I was pretty sure fumes would have been coming from her head. I scooted back to the table, but my mind was still on what had just happened.
Smiling, I signed the girl’s poster and tried to resume the signing.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I'm back from Ireland now. I'm really sorry I didn't get this out to you sooner, but yesterday I recieved some pretty bad news regarding my health. For now, it's nothing to worry about, but I'll have to go through a bunch of tests next week, like bone-marrow extract, blood tests and a CT-scan. Cross your fingers for me, eh? I'm not at my peak.
I will, however, do my best to finish up this story and start "Play" as soon as possible. From my calculations, there's little over 19k words left of this story, and we're getting close to the climax, plus of course, the long awaited reveal of Cami's lies. I'll do my best, but I'm going to need your help to take my mind off hospitals etc. So do your thing and be amazing, yeah? It would mean a lot.
Other than that, I've just unfollowed a bunch of people on Twitter. If you somehow got mixed into that--or if you want to get sneakpeaks of future chapters--then send me a tweet on there at @MajaDiana and I'll follow you. I'd love to talk to you over there.
Anywho, Give this a vote, maybe? I hope I still have a few readers left. <3 Love you all.